Water Gems have been working with Earth Building UK and Ireland (EBUKI) to understand how we can use excavated subsoil to create compressed earth blocks (CEB) for construction. This would mean earth would not need to be removed from site and would minimise the purchase new building materials.
Replacing concrete blocks with CEB manufactured from excavated earth would have a fantastic impact on any project. This change will deliver important carbon savings, reduced waste and material transportation implications.
Next steps:
Continue to broaden our knowledge and understanding by on-going collaboration with EBUKI trainers, designers, suppliers and builders.
Experiment with different CEB compositions, and take soil samples from sites where there will be a large volume of subsoil excavated.
Organise to have the soil samples tested and analysed by an accredited geotechnical laboratory. We currently use the MAT Test laboratory in Glasgow for testing and analysis. Their results are helping us to identify the most successful block composition.
Our ultimate aim is to be able to replace concrete blocks with earth blocks in the design and construction of large projects like the Infinity Pool project shown above.
To find out more, please contact us.
Corten Steel
Industrial Rebar
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Compressed Earth Blocks
Gardens
Water
